Work handling mechanism



1945 c. L. EKSERGIAN ET AL 238L656 WORK HANDLING- MECHAN-ISM Filed Oct. 8, 1942 4 Sheets$heet l Jg j,

622 2 0 has L E/wergzan/ Jase viz 15 6'00272Z1e5 and ATTORNEY INVENIORS 8- 1945- c. L. EKSERGIAN ET AL 2,381,656

WORK HANDLING MECHANISM Filed octfs, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Josep Aug. 7, 1945.-

C. L. EKS ERGIAN ETAL WORK HANDLING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 8, 1942 939? INVEIYTORS Carolus Llfi'li'fiergzan/ J05eph 17. 0002121765 Q ATTORNEY Aug. 7, 1945.

C. L. EKSERGIAN ETAL WORK HANDLING MECHANISM Filed cat. a, 1942 4 SheetsSheet 4 INVENTORS Carolus lLE gimg Jbseph H, Coombes W /7% A ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 7, 1945 WORK HANDLING MECHANISM Carolus L. Eksergian and Joseph H. Coombes,

Detroit, Mich., assignors to Budd Wheel Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 8, 1942, Serial No. 461,357

7 Claims.

This invention relates to work handling mechanism and, more particularly, to mechanism for handling a work piece for presentation to a machine either for a single operation or a plurality of successive operations thereon.

Heretofore, in the manufacture of articles such, for example, as shell forgings, it has been customary for the operator to manually place a billet in a heating furnace until heated to the desired temperature, and then to manually transfer the heated billet in a pair of tongs to the forging machine, placing the heatedend between one pair of dies for the first shaping blow, and then shifting the billet from one set V of dies to another between successive forging operations. Over a period of time this becomes a laborious procedure which tends to slow up production.

An object of this invention is to provide work handlingmechanism for use by the operator of a machine, constructed and arranged to relieve him of the labor involved in lifting the work, while enabling him to easily control the movement and shift the position of the work as may be required in moving it from one station to another for successive operations by the machine.

A further object is to provide a billet handling mechanism for use with forging machines, or the like, of such flexibility as will enable the operator to freely and easily shift the billet from one posi-.-

tion to another as, for example, from the heating furnace to a forging machine, or from one work position to another in a forging or other type of machine, while relieving him of the necessity of supporting the weight of the billet.

A further object is to provide a work handling mechanism, of the type set forth, of simple and sturdy construction which can be easily operated and controlled by relatively inexperienced operators.

These and other objects, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, are accomplished by the present invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a work handling mechanism constructed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the mechanism shownin Fig. 1, different positions thereof being indicated in broken lines,

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 44 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View, Supplementtioned one below the other.

ing Fig. 3, of the rest of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1,

Figs. 6 and 'I are transverse sectional views on the lines 15-43 and |'I of Fig. 5, respectively,

Fig. 8 is an elevation of the rear end of the work holder looking from the left of Fig. 5,

Fig. 9 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the work holder, I

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section through a part of the work holder, showing the work gripping jaws in plan, and

Fig. 11 is an elevation of a supplemental billet support looking from the right of Fig. 9.

The illustrated embodiment of this invention is shown as a billet handling mechanism for transferring a billet in the form of a rod from a heating furnace to a forging machine, the respective forming dies of which are'vertically posi- The work holder is arranged to grip and hold a billet securely, and it is mounted upon a supporting mechanism which permits the holder and billet to be freely moved in any horizontal direction. The work holder is mounted for vertical movement on the supporting mechanism and power mechanism is provided for supporting the work and for moving it in a vertical direction, upwardly or downwardly as the case may be. Preferably, the power mech anism is electrical and control buttonsare arranged on the handle of the work holder in a position to be so manipulated by the operator as to control and shift the work holder and the supported billet vertically with ease and accuracy. This arrangement permits an operator to lift and manipulate a billet with substantially the same freedom of movement as he now obtains in manual operation, but without having to bear the weight of the billet himself.

As illustrated, the invention is mounted firmly upon a support such as a shaft [0 by means of an arcuate bracket arm ll having a collar l2 in which is welded or otherwise secured a vertical tube 13 having an inner tubular member [4 mounted in upper and lower ball bearings l5 and i6, respectively, the races of the upper bearing l5 being shaped to support the vertical downward thrust of the tubular member, the outer supporting race I! being mounted on an inner collar I8 fitting within the tube I 3. A spacer tube l9 separates and determines the position of the inner races of the two bearings. The outer race of the lower bearing l6 engages an inner collar 20 fitting within the lower end of tube l3.

The inner tubular member M has a supporting collar 22, welded or'otherwise secured thereon,

=inder. cylinder and .normally pressed .inwardly, to the piece such as .a billet '52. is exhausted from the cylinder-44, the spring 41 tube having a hollow extension 26 of reduced diameter swiveled in the member 24 on upper and lower bearings 21 and 28, :respectively. .A'

second horizontally extending-cross tube -29 has an end extending into andrigidlysecured' to the lower swiveled member 25, while the outer end of the tube 29 supports a vertical :tubular .member 3| extending through the outer end of the tube and rigidly secured thereto by welding or'otherwise.

A work holder is mounted for vertical movement within the tube .3! and, as illustrated, includes -.a tubular member 32 extending through and-beyond the tube.3=l foradistance sufficient to permit any required extentof vertical movement. Theinner tube 32 is provided with a'slot 33 receiving a key 34 secured totheouter tube 3l topreventrelative rotation between-the telescoping tubular members. .A .work holder handle 35 secured to bracket 36 is rotatably.mounted .on bearingB'l-supported on a cap 38 fitted within the lower end of the .tubular'member 32.

Apair of workgripping jaws v39 having .cam

.faces 40 andnormally pressedapart by aspring 4| .are pivoted toa rod 42 extending rearwardly throughanopening 43in therear wall of a cylinder 44 and through an elongated extension 45 forming a handleor grip on the rear of the cyl Afsleeve 46 slidably mounted within the leftin Figs. 5 andi9,.by.a spring 41 surrounding the .jaw rod 42 and biased between a shoulder on the rod .and the inner 'rearface of thesleeve 46. The .rod 42 extends throughastuffing box 48 closing therear end .of .thesleeve 46. .Afiuid vpressureline 48' connects any suitable source of fluid pressure, notshown, to a passage 49 in the rod 42. The passage communicates through a port .5I with .the interior of the cylinder 44.

Obviously, when ,pressureis .delivered to the -.cylinder 44 the sleeve 461s forced-outward, .camming against the .jaws '39 to close them upon a work When fluid pressure forces the sleeve 46 into the cylinder to relieve the jaws which are then spread apart by .the spring 41. As illustrated, the ,jaws have two sets of work engaging faces 53 and '54 for .holding different sizes of billets. Fig. 5 shows the face 53 in use forholdingasmallbillet, while Fig. 9

.shows face 54 ,in use for holding a larger billet.

An additional work support is provided for cooperating with the jaws 39 in supporting .a billet. This is shown as a hook55 having a stem 56 extending through an opening ,in the bracket 36. The stem has apluraility of notches 51 .for

cooperating with a spring pressed pin 58 .for

holding the.hook in different positions .to accommodate 'itto different diameters of billets. The work holder is supported for vertical .movement by mechanism located'within the tubular arms and power means .is associated therewith for raising and lowering the work holder under the control of the operator. This ,isshown as comprising a reversible motor "6| driving a reel 62 connected to cable 63' which extends through the tubular sleeves, over pulleys 64 and 65 mounted in opposite ends of the horizontal cross member 23 and pulleys 66' and 61 mounted in opposite ends of the horizontal cross member 29. The cable extends downwardly through the tube 32 an'dJiS-connecte'd by a .swivel 66 and spring 69 to a pin 1| supporting cap 38 on 'which the bracket 36 is mounted. The motor circuit is controlled by a standard hoist wiring circuit em- ,ploying typical push button control for raising and lowering the work holder. The control buttons :are located on the handle bar 35.

In theillustrated embodiment operation of the button 12 causes the motor 6| to raise the work holder, whilebutton I4 causes the motor to lower the work. .The intermediate button 13 is an indexing button and controls an indexing circuit which includes a timer controlled relay, by means of which .the work holder may be raised or lowered the necessary amount to move the billet 52 from one set of dies to'another for successive operations. 7

The jaw supporting cylinder 44 is held in place in the supporting sl'eeve'lfi by a lock 11 hinged -to the sleeve"16 "and adapted to engage in a groove 18 formed in the'outer wall of the cylinder '44. A handle 19 is provided for swinging the lock upwardly-to retract itfrom the cylinder and permit removal thereof when desired.

In operation, the mechanism may, for example, 'beemployed in feeding billets from heating 'fur- 'naces 81 and 82 to'the dies of a forging machine '63, as indicated in '"Fig. '2. Assuming that the operator has manipulatedthe mechanism so that -the jaws 39 'have' gripped anend of a heated billet which is supported by the jaws andfthe hook 55, the billet is retracted from the furnace -82by drawing the work support in a horizontal direction away from the furnace. The'support with thebillet can be swung horizontally to the position'indicatedin solid line in Fig. 2 andt'he billet moved into "the forging machine so as to position the heated end thereof in the forging dies for the first operation. TOTE/158 or lower :the billet 'in order to align :it'with the dies the motor 6| isrsuitably operated by pressing either button 12 or 214. It should be noted that the weight :of the billet is supported through the spring :69 so that :slight raising or lowering thereof manually is permitted :in order to adjust the billet to the exact height desired. Upon opening of the dies, after-the first shapingoperation, if succeeding operations are to be performed on the billet, the indexing control button 12 is pressed resulting in operation of the motor SI so as to lower the 'billet just-sufficiently to place it in the next set of dies for'the next succeeding forging operation, and this is repeated any number'of times depending upon the numberof'dies in the .machine. Afterthe last forging operation, the work .holderis drawn horizontally away from the forging machine and can be swung in any horizontal direction to discharge the billet at any desired point. The billet is discharged by releasing it from the grip of the jaws 39 which is accomplished by .cutting off the fluid pressure from the interior of the cylinder 44. This permits the spring 4] to.move the sleeve 46 rearwardly or to the leftas shown in Fig. 5, and permits the spring 3| to spread thejaws 129 and .release the billet. The next billet which may be taken from the furnace8l is secured to the. work holder by placing the hook 65 under it and moving the jaws 39 into position around the end of it whereby upon application of fluid pressure to the cylinder 44, the sleeve 45 is moved so as to compress the jaws into engagement with the billet.

It will be apparent that the present invention can be variously modified and adapted within the scope of the impending claims.

We claim:

1. In an apparatus for handling elongated workpieces, a supporting structure, a work holder support depending from said structure, a work holder carried by said support and including clamping means for gripping one end of the workpiece and holding the same in a horizontal position, and means for relieving the clamping means of forces tending to separate the same incident to the workpiece bein clamped at one end only, comprising a rigid member carried by and depending from said support for engaging the underside of the workpiece at a region spaced from said clamping means.

2. In an apparatus for handling elongated workpiecesa supporting structure, a work holder support depending from said structure, a work holder carried by said support and including clamping means for gripping one end of the workpiece and holding the same in a horizontal position, and means for relieving the clamping means of forces tending to separate the same incident to the workpiece being clamped at one end only, comprising a rigid member carried by and depending from said support for engaging the underside of the workpiece at a region spaced from said clamping means, said work holder support havin a horizontally rotatable connection with said supporting structure for permitting manual horizontal movement of said support and work holder relative to said supporting structure.

3. Work handling apparatus comprising in combination, a vertical tubular mast, a tubular boom supported at one end by said mast for horizontal swinging movement about the axis of said mast, a vertical tubular member supported by the other end of said boom, said boom being jointed intermediate its ends about a vertical axis, a work holder vertically slidable within said tubular member, means for effecting vertical movement of said work holder, said means extending within saidtubular member, boom and mast, and

winch means for actuating said first mentioned means.

4. Work handling apparatus comprising in combination, a vertical tubular mast, a tubular boom supported at one end by said mast for horizontal swinging movement about the axis of said rotation about the axis thereof, and cable means for vertically moving said work holder and second member, said cable means having a swivel connection with said work holder and extending within said tubular members, said boom and said mast.

5. Work handling apparatus comprising in combination, a vertical tubular mast, a tubular boom supported at one end by said mast for horizontal swinging movement about the axis of said mast, a vertical tubular member supported by the other end of said boom, said boom being jointed intermediate its ends about a vertical axis, a work holder vertically slidable within said tubular member, cable means for effecting vertical movement of said work holder, said cable means extending within said tubular member, boom and mast, and a plurality of guide sheaves for said cable means, said sheaves including one at the intersection of said tubular member and boom, another at the intersection of said boom and mast, and a plurality at the joint of said boom, said plurality of sheaves being so disposed as to maintain said cable means at said joint coaxial with said joint.

6. In a work handling apparatus having a tubular mast and a vertically movable work holder, a tubular boom connected at its ends with said mast and said work holder, said boom including vertically offset portions, one having a depending vertical tubular part and the other having an upstanding vertical tubular part, said parts being pivotally connected for rotational movement about a vertical axis, cable means extending within said boom for actuating said work holder, and sheaves within said offset portions for guiding the portion of said cable means at said connection for movement coaxial with said axis.

7. In an apparatus for supporting workpieces for movement horizontally from one station to another and for subsequent vertical movement to any one of a plurality of vertically spaced work stations, a vertical mast, a jointed boom supported at one end by said mast for movement about the axis thereof, a tubular member depending from the other end of said boom, a work holder, a vertical member telescoped with said tubular member for freely slidable axial movement relative to said tubular member, and being constrained against rotation relative to said tubular member, means supporting said work holder from said vertical member for free rotational movement relative thereto, and cable means within said tubular member, said cable means being connected with said vertical member and work holder for effecting vertical movement thereof relative to said tubular member and constituting the sole support therefor.

CAROLUS L. EKSERGIAN. JOSEPH H. COOMBES. 

